Are very young musicians an inspiration or unmotivational?

[Lonk]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ12ebz67lc

7 year old playing Animals as Leaders in drums.

[Architeuthis]

I've seen 10-12 year olds on YouTube playing John Petrucci solos quite well. It's almost unbelievable watching those little fingers move that fast with such precision. So yes,  it is inspring! It inspires me to hang my guitar up on the wall because I thought I was an advanced player now in my forties. I didn't start playing until I was 19 years old, so my brain was allready a bit cluttered to become a future internet sensation.. Which I'm sure these kids will go far beyond that! 

[lonestar]

I love watching the young kids kicking ass. My personal favorite is Senri Yamaguchi. She hit the scene around 14,just kicking ass on the drums. Now she has a 3 piece jazz band and there's videos of her doing (and holding her own) a drum off against Minneman at an Aristocrats show.

Also, Kala Rose the little cutie that did the Pull Me Under cover years ago, now is about as tremendous a singer as one can be.

It's just so cool to follow their careers and growth.

[ChuckSteak]

The heart of the matter is comparison. If you become unmotivated because somebody younger than you can do something better, then you should really quit. On the other hand, you can watch those videos on youtube and get inspired to try even harder. It is not about being better. I think it was Mozart.. when he was 12 or so he spoke 4 languages fluently. If most people compare themselves to him, they will be sad and disappointed. Comparisons are not good for you.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

I love watching the young kids kicking ass. My personal favorite is Senri Yamaguchi. She hit the scene around 14,just kicking ass on the drums. Now she has a 3 piece jazz band and there's videos of her doing (and holding her own) a drum off against Minneman at an Aristocrats show.

She's incredible, first saw her a couple of years ago. The amount of power and control coming out of a person that small is amazing.
She recently visited the drumchannel Drumeo and did a lesson and some solos, great stuff. 

[Evermind]

The heart of the matter is comparison. If you become unmotivated because somebody younger than you can do something better, then you should really quit. On the other hand, you can watch those videos on youtube and get inspired to try even harder. It is not about being better. I think it was Mozart.. when he was 12 or so he spoke 4 languages fluently. If most people compare themselves to him, they will be sad and disappointed. Comparisons are not good for you.

There's even this whole thing with Roosevelt and his "comparison is the thief of joy" quote, I think.

[Indiscipline]

The response is joy, for talent manifested is the best thing to witness in life, as talent wasted is the worst.

By the way, if you consider the nervous system implications, that's a pretty good age to technically excel at an instrument, given body size compatibility. I would be focking astonished if a kid could compose Petrucci solos though, but still happy.

Regarding quitting because someone's better, everybody should quit then. Find your notch and thrive in it, 'cause above it and below it life is pretty miserable.

[Nekov]

I love watching the young kids kicking ass. My personal favorite is Senri Yamaguchi. She hit the scene around 14,just kicking ass on the drums. Now she has a 3 piece jazz band and there's videos of her doing (and holding her own) a drum off against Minneman at an Aristocrats show.

Also, Kala Rose the little cutie that did the Pull Me Under cover years ago, now is about as tremendous a singer as one can be.

It's just so cool to follow their careers and growth.

Just looked up the video. That girl is freaking amazing

[Lonk]

I used to teach music in NYC public school from 2010-2013 as part of my degree. I was always fascinated when I found a young kid with a lot of talent. Sometimes they would ask me to teach them something that was above my own level of playing but that was just extra movitation to practice.

[TAC]

I love watching the young kids kicking ass. My personal favorite is Senri Yamaguchi. She hit the scene around 14,just kicking ass on the drums. Now she has a 3 piece jazz band and there's videos of her doing (and holding her own) a drum off against Minneman at an Aristocrats show.

Also, Kala Rose the little cutie that did the Pull Me Under cover years ago, now is about as tremendous a singer as one can be.

It's just so cool to follow their careers and growth.

So.....little girls, then? 

[Ninjabait]

It depends for me tbh. I've seen and met a few child prodigies in my life (90% classical and jazz) and it's inspirational and makes me happy when you can see that their passion for the music is genuine. I always feel like those kids are going to go make a name for themselves in the industry and do big things. Often they're super chill about it too. A really good example of a genuine modern prodigy is Joey Alexander, who did a really good job of playing "Giant Steps" (basically to jazz what Animals as Leaders is to metal guitar) at the age of 11/12.

On the other hand, you sometimes run into the "burnt out at 12" prodigies who did the exact opposite and ended up really hating music because they were forced into it or it became a chore for them. They get some big hit video on YouTube or Facebook and then just drop off the face of the earth and end up pursuing a career in sales or something. Those are really disheartening.

Prodigy singers don't have an effect on me any more. I know their voice isn't mature yet and probably doing unhealthy things to force an impressive sound (see: literally all of the kids singing opera on talent shows) that will end up damaging them in the long run. tbh your prepubescent kid shouldn't sound like a grown man/woman. They should still sound kind of like a kid.

[Stadler]

Neither.   

I will say, though, that generally, I don't like the "precocious kid" angle when it comes to this stuff.   I know, I know, get off my lawn, but there's something that doesn't resonate with me, or ring true.   And I'll be the first to say that it makes zero logical sense; I don't think Johnny Cash ACTUALLY killed a man in Reno just to watch him die, but the song still resonates, and at least it's PLAUSIBLE.   I don't KNOW that David Lee Roth actually been to the edge, and stood and looked down, but it SOUNDS like it.    Some of these kids are technically good, but it doesn't SOUND plausible to me.   

We don't watch many competition shows (except on the Food Network) and even then, when kids come on, I usually mumble "I fucking hate kids" to my wife and turn the channel.    When I was 11, I could  barely make Spaghetti-O's; I didn't even know what "Beef Wellington" was, and some of these kids are making Beer Cheese Flambe's like they own the restaurant.   I can't help thinking, though, that there's a parent behind all that, and in an unhealthy way.   

[lonestar]

Actually I got her name wrong, it's Senri Kawaguchi. Here's the video I first found of her at 16...

https://youtu.be/VisODUOCiUk

And here's her with Marco...

https://youtu.be/D_NDvn0b6zs

[Architeuthis]

I see what Stadler is saying. Often times the parent is behind it. In some cases the parent will see that their kid has a natural talent and push them to pursue it since they know talent may have skipped a generation, lol!
 One of my previous posts got deleted for some reason, but I said I was joking about hanging up my guitar just because there are young people that play circles around me. I'm just glad to see that there is so much young talent! It gives hope that there will be alot of good music and many great albums to come out in the future. 🎶😎

[Ben_Jamin]

Kids being talented is nice. I'm with Stadler though, most of these youtube kids might seem a too good to be true, I hope not though. As they get older, I hope they continue that passion and start a band, join an orchestra, or compose their own songs.

Now if those kids had original content, then I'll consider them as a prodigy.

[Lowdz]

I can admire the skill and commitment needed to get that good at something but it doesn’t inspire or deflate me as I know I’ll never attain anywhere near that level of skill.

I play guitar but I’m not very good and I’m fine with that.

One of my mates plays guitar and plays in local bands. He plays Status Quo and sixties standards and he’s never aspired to more. I had no interest in playing these songs even though that’s more my level. I want to be Satch and Yngwie but that’s not going to happen.

[lonestar]

Bumping this thread because of this 16 year old guitarist Hal-Ca (now 18).. (just noticed, bass player is also 18 now, drummer is 21)


Definitely inspirational...and holy fuck what a talent...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buQPvINJcA0&ab_channel=Takako

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Yeah, I always wonder what else is going on behind the curtain when little kids are already musical virtuosos.  It's one thing if they've just really hit on their passion and love it, but I suspect a sizeable percentage have overly ambitious parents living vicariously through them and pushing them excessively hard, to the exclusion of actually becoming a complete person and living life.  It's one thing when it's their own choice, but it's another if it's being foisted on them.  Often times you need those non-musical experiences to actually write music that's meaningful to other people.  How many shredders have we seen who seem to have nothing else to say other than to others who've also spent 15 hours a day on diminished sweep arpeggios.  But I think it's a reality we have to reckon with some extent, because becoming that highly skilled at doing something by necessity means neglecting at least some other aspect of personal development, and most of our musical heroes had to do it to some degree to get where they are.  It's part of why so many musicians have various addictions and issues in life. 

[lonestar]

I'm sure that's the case in some, but with the video I posted, they are having a great fucking time performing, and there's some serious talent there, not just wankery on steroids.

[soupytwist]

The sad thing is they'll earn more money on YouTube doing impressive cover versions than actually forming a band and trying to make original content.

[Adami]

The sad thing is they'll earn more money on YouTube doing impressive cover versions than actually forming a band and trying to make original content.

Why is that sad? Many musicians just love performing and not necessarily writing original songs.

[lonestar]

The sad thing is they'll earn more money on YouTube doing impressive cover versions than actually forming a band and trying to make original content.

The band I posted already has two albums of original stuff.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

The sad thing is they'll earn more money on YouTube doing impressive cover versions than actually forming a band and trying to make original content.

Locally in my area band rehearsal rooms that usually was occupied by bands are nowdays empty or closed. I can't speak for how it is in other areas of the world but I do think in general playing in bands as a hobby is not what it used to be.

I'm sure that's the case in some, but with the video I posted, they are having a great fucking time performing, and there's some serious talent there, not just wankery on steroids.

Just lock at Nandi Bushnell, I mean that kid is just amazing at having fun and playing. Doing video covers made her eventually play with Foo Fighters, that's pretty nuts.

As a teacher I see my students in the same age and then her and wondering WTH am I doing wrong when I rarely see that kind of excitment playing drums from them and i'm a pretty creative and fun teacher I think. 

It's also so heartwarming seeing her having fun and living her dream. 

Foo Fighters - Soundcheck, Backstage and Multi Camera Show

[Volante99]

As far as YouTube trends go I’d rather watch a 4 year old play Dance of Eternity on drums than watch phony (over)reaction videos - “Watch vocal coach react to Bohemian Rhapsody!” , “Watch black person listen to song that ISN’T rap!”, “Watch nuclear physicist react to punk rock song!” Ugh.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

There are definitely some reaction channels that are clickbait devoid of substance, but there are also some pretty insightful or entertaining ones.  Key of Geebz and Doug Helvering are composers who analyze songs with a fair amount of depth about musicianship, songwriting, production and such.  Lost In Vegas is pretty genuine and they have a good intuitive sense of what makes songs work or not.  Some of the vocal ones like The Charismatic Voice are pretty interesting if you're curious to learn more about singing techniques and how they're employed. 

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Bumping this thread because of this 16 year old guitarist Hal-Ca (now 18).. (just noticed, bass player is also 18 now, drummer is 21)


Definitely inspirational...and holy fuck what a talent...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buQPvINJcA0&ab_channel=Takako

That was amazing!

[wolfking]

IMO, there's no point getting your motivation derailed from these prodigy kids.  It's not like you can do anything about them so might as well enjoy and applaud them and keep practicing hard.

[Kotowboy]

Whenever I see incredibly talented musicians still aged single figures I do wonder how much negative parental influence goes on behind the scenes.

Most kids give up on something after a few months. *** Gotta wonder how overly strict some of the parents have to be to get the kid to Prodigy level.







*** - example - all 3 of my teen brothers were obsessed with fidget spinners in 2020. Now they don't even care about them.

[wolfking]

Whenever I see incredibly talented musicians still aged single figures I do wonder how much negative parental influence goes on behind the scenes.

Most kids give up on something after a few months. *** Gotta wonder how overly strict some of the parents have to be to get the kid to Prodigy level.







*** - example - all 3 of my teen brothers were obsessed with fidget spinners in 2020. Now they don't even care about them.

Or they could just have a natural love for the instrument instead of video games and social media.

There is no way these kids are that good just because the parent forces them, it's just not possible.

[Lonk]

Bumping this thread because of this 16 year old guitarist Hal-Ca (now 18).. (just noticed, bass player is also 18 now, drummer is 21)


Definitely inspirational...and holy fuck what a talent...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buQPvINJcA0&ab_channel=Takako

I forgot about this thread, thank you for sharing that, that was a great performance 

[lonestar]

Another bump....I follow the Hit Like a Girl contest that celebrates female drummers of all ages, and this year's winner of the under 13 category is just fucking mindblowing...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgI90jaO-JI&ab_channel=kiichannel


There was also a 7 year old in the contest that covered Pareidolia by Haken...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocFk9Ym94Uk&ab_channel=ZasaZaSanun